Monday mornings I'm on the air sharing more stories about how people are living better through computers. I'll tuck field notes from those shows right here. You'll also be able to dig into the archives to explore previous shows as I determine how best to share some of the highlights of the past 8 year's worth of adventures.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Five Terrific Father's Day Gifts

With Father's Day just around the corner I thought I'd share some of my very favourite tips and toys to help families honour dad this year. Here are the highlights from today's show, with links to the resources I shared:

Gifts for the Techy Dad

1) Digital Picture Frames

Kodak, HP, Philips and Sony all have nice alternatives ranging from $50-$200 depending on the features

2) GPS systems

Garmin has some of the best systems on the market with a wide range of prices and features

3) Digital USB Stereo Turntables

…so dad can still listen to his vinyl LP's and even convert the music from them to MP3 and other digital audio formats

Alternative Gifts that Give Twice

For as little as $25 you can buy dad a gift certificate at Kiva.org and let him choose a small business person in a developing country to sponsor. Kiva.org is a microfinance program that invites people to invest in the working poor. Dad will be able to invest in an entrepreneur from many countries around the world and track the success of their project. As the person he invests in repays the loan, he can choose to withdraw the money or reinvest it into new people. It's a gift that constantly renews itself.

The Reverse Gift - From Dad to the Kids

While the Dadcando.com web site places a special emphasis on helping single, widowed and non-resident fathers connect in more meaningful ways with their kids, it's a terrific resource for any dad (and mum!) looking to make the most of their time as a parent. The web site is full of fun, easy and sometimes astonishing projects that dads and kids can work on together, from making Harry Potter wands and dragon's eggs, to fun in the kitchen and even science experiments. Beyond the essential "cool" factor of this site, it also has a terrific resource center helping dad's "be a hero" to their kids, with articles, quotes, film and book suggestions and other tools to help dad's connect in more meaningful ways with their kids.

What's on Deck?

In the weeks ahead I'll share a suite of free mobile apps you can tuck on your flashdrive to take your office with you anywhere you go, and a handful of other tools to set up your marketing, your customer base, and even collaborative partnerships to help you tap into opportunities that require manpower and skills beyond your own.

I'm excited about sharing these things because they are all tools and sites I have used myself. They are easy to use, they have no cost attached, and they rival the power of name-brand applications that cost thousands of dollars to set up.

It's a great time to reinvent! The internet gives us a very powerful, accessible and vital network of tools and allies to help us thrive, be resilient, adaptable and happy in our chosen new niches. Stay tuned for more ways to plug in …